help from electronics gurus? 555 timer

[midgetwaiter]

He's probably making a wave timer, using the relay to control a couple of powerheads. Best to use Maxijets in this situation as they are the only powerheads that can handle the frequent starts well.

I can't imagine how you melted that chip. Are you sure you didn't short it somewhere?

Here's a cool wavemaker circut

http://ealex.aqua-web.org/wavebox/circuit.htm